On-board power supply system and on-board control apparatus

ABSTRACT

An on-board control apparatus includes: a controller connected to a controlled device mounted in a vehicle via a signal line and configured to control the operation of the corresponding controlled device; and a power source box connected to a power source mounted in the vehicle via a power line, that is connected to the controlled device mounted in the vehicle via a power line, and configured to switch between supply and non-supply of power from the power source to the controlled device, wherein the power source box includes; a switch disposed in a power supply path from the power source to the controlled device; a reception unit configured to receive an input of the switching command; and a switching control unit configured to switch between conduction and interruption of the switch in response to the switching command received by the reception unit.

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/612,502 filed on Nov. 11, 2019, which is a U.S. national stage ofPCT/JP2018/016580 filed on Apr. 24, 2018, which claims priority ofJapanese Patent Application No. JP 2017-096685 filed on May 15, 2017,the contents of which are incorporated herein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to an on-board power supply system and anon-board control apparatus that control the operation of a controlleddevice mounted in a vehicle, and that control supply of power to thecontrolled device.

BACKGROUND

A large number of devices are mounted in a vehicle, and these devicesoperate by being supplied with power from an on-board power source suchas a battery. An apparatus called a power source box is provided in thepower supply path from the power source to each device. The power sourcebox is connected to the power source via a power line, and is connectedto the devices via individual power lines. A plurality of switches arebuilt in the power source box, and supply and non-supply of power fromthe power source to the device can be switched. On the other hand, theoperation of the device mounted in the vehicle is performed by, forexample, an ECU (Electronic Control Unit). In a conventional vehicle,the ECU controls the switching of each switch of the power source box,thereby switching between supply and non-supply of power to the deviceto be controlled by that ECU.

In JP 2015-217734A, a power source apparatus for an automobile having aconfiguration is proposed in which, in a power source box interposedbetween a plurality of storage batteries and loads, a switch means forselecting whether to supply power from each storage battery to the loadand a switch control unit that controls the switch means to select astorage battery that supplies power according to the output voltagevalue of each storage battery are provided, so that a storage batteryselection operation can be performed by the switch control unit based ona control signal that is output from a load control unit that controlsthe loads.

In recent years, the number of devices mounted in a vehicle hasincreased, and it has been studied to reduce the number of devices byintegrating (uniting) a plurality of devices into one device. As oneplan for integration, it is conceivable to integrate the above-mentionedECU and the power source box into one apparatus. In this case, a deviceto be controlled is connected to the ECU integrated with the powersource box via a signal line and a power line, and the ECU performsoperation control and power source control in an integrated manner.

However, in the configuration in which the ECU integrated with the powersource box performs the operation control and the power source controlof the device in an integrated manner, when a plurality of devices to becontrolled are disposed at separate locations in the vehicle, the powerline connecting the ECU and each device becomes long. As a result, theamount of the power lines mounted in the vehicle may increase.

The present disclosure has been made in view of such circumstances, andan object thereof is to provide an on-board power supply system and anon-board control apparatus capable of reducing the number of devicesmounted in a vehicle by integrating a power source box and an ECU, andsuppressing an increase in the amount of power lines in the vehicle.

SUMMARY

An on-board power supply system according to the present disclosureincludes on-board control apparatuses each including a controller thatis connected to a controlled device mounted in a vehicle via a signalline and that is configured to control the operation of thecorresponding controlled device, and a power source box that isconnected to a power source mounted in the vehicle via a power line,that is connected to the controlled device mounted in the vehicle via apower line, and that is configured to switch between supply andnon-supply of power from the power source to the controlled device,wherein, to the power source box included in one of the on-board controlapparatuses, a controlled device that is to be controlled by thecontroller included in another one of the on-board control apparatusesis connected, and the power source box included in the one of theon-board control apparatuses is configured to switch between supply andnon-supply of power to the controlled device that is connected to theone of the on-board control apparatuses, in response to a switchingcommand from the controller included in the other one of the on-boardcontrol apparatuses.

In the on-board power supply system according to the present disclosure,the power source boxes may each include a switch that is disposed in apower supply path from the power source to the controlled device, areception unit configured to receive an input of the switching command,and a switching control unit configured to switch between conduction andinterruption of the switch in response to the switching command receivedby the reception unit.

In the on-board power supply system according to the present disclosure,each reception unit may be configured to receive the switching commandvia an in-vehicle network provided in the vehicle.

In the on-board power supply system according to the present disclosure,a plurality of the on-board control apparatuses and a plurality of thecontrolled devices may be mounted in the vehicle, and each controlleddevice is connected to the power source box of the nearest on-boardcontrol apparatus via a power line, and is connected to the controllerof the on-board control apparatus that is configured to control thecontrolled device via a signal line.

The on-board control apparatus according to the present disclosure is anon-board control apparatus that includes a controller that is connectedto a controlled device mounted in a vehicle via a signal line and thatis configured to control the operation of the corresponding controlleddevice, and a power source box that is connected to a power sourcemounted in the vehicle via a power line, that is connected to thecontrolled device mounted in the vehicle via a power line, and that isconfigured to switch between supply and non-supply of power from thepower source to the controlled device, wherein the power source boxincludes a switch that is disposed in a power supply path from the powersource to the controlled device, a reception unit configured to receivea switching command from another apparatus, and a switching control unitconfigured to switch between conduction and interruption of the switchin response to the switching command received by the reception unit.

In the present disclosure, a vehicle includes on-board controlapparatuses in each of which a controller configured to control theoperation of a controlled device is integrated with a power source boxconfigured to switch between supply and non-supply of power from a powersource to the controlled device. To the power source box of one of theon-board control apparatuses, a controlled device that is to becontrolled by the controller of another one of the on-board controlapparatuses is connected via a power line. The power source box of theone of the on-board control apparatuses switches between supply andnon-supply of power to the controlled device that is connected to theone of the on-board control apparatuses, in response to a switchingcommand from the controller of the other on-board control apparatus.

In this manner, even in the on-board control apparatus in which thecontroller and the power source box are integrated, the degree offreedom of connection between the power source box of the on-boardcontrol apparatus and a controlled device via a power line in thevehicle is increased, by making it possible to connect a controlleddevice that is not to be controlled by the corresponding controller tothe power source box. This makes it possible to suppress an increase inthe amount of the power lines.

In the present disclosure, a switch for switching between supply andnon-supply of power to the controlled device, a reception unit thatreceives a switching command from the other on-board control apparatus,and a switching control unit that switches between conduction andinterruption of the switch in response to the received switching commandare provided in the power source box of the on-board control apparatus.With this configuration, the power source box, which is integrated, canswitch between supply and non-supply of power to the controlled device,which is not to be controlled by the controller, without hindering theprocessing of the controller that controls the operation of thecontrolled device.

In the present disclosure, the reception unit of the power source boxreceives a switching command via the in-vehicle network. In this manner,it is not necessary to provide a separate signal line for transmittingand receiving a switching command, because the power source box canreceive a switching command from the other on-board control apparatususing the existing in-vehicle network. Accordingly, it is possible tosuppress an increase in the amount of the signal lines in the vehicle.

In the present disclosure, if a plurality of on-board controlapparatuses and a plurality of controlled devices are mounted in thevehicle, each controlled device is connected to the power source box ofthe nearest on-board control apparatus via the power line, and isconnected to the controller of the on-board control apparatus thatcontrols the controlled device via the signal line. In this manner, thelength of the power line that connects the power source box of theon-board control apparatus and the controlled device can be shortened,and an increase in the amount of the power lines in the vehicle can besuppressed.

Advantageous Effects of Disclosure

In the present disclosure, an increase in the amount of the power linesin a vehicle can be suppressed in an on-board control apparatus in whicha controller and a power source box are integrated, by employing aconfiguration in which a controlled device that is not to be controlledby the controller can be connected to the power source box.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a configuration example of anon-board power supply system according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing a configuration example of theon-board power supply system according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a body-systemon-board control apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the procedure of a switching controlprocess performed by a power source box of the body-system on-boardcontrol apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a body-systemon-board control apparatus according to a first modification.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a body-systemon-board control apparatus according to a second modification.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a body-systemon-board control apparatus according to a third modification.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

System Configuration

FIGS. 1 and 2 are schematic views each showing a configuration exampleof an on-board power supply system according to the present embodiment.The on-board power supply system according to the present embodiment isa system that controls the operations of a plurality of controlleddevices (hereinafter referred to as “loads”) mounted in a vehicle 1, andthat controls the supply of power from a battery 2 to the plurality ofloads mounted in the vehicle 1. Note, that FIG. 1 illustrates aconfiguration related to supply of power to the loads in the on-boardpower supply system, and power supply paths from the battery 2 to theloads are shown by thick solid lines. Also, FIG. 2 illustrates aconfiguration related to the operation control of the loads in theon-board power supply system, and transmission paths of control signalsto the loads are shown by thick broken arrows.

In the on-board power supply system according to the present embodiment,supply or non-supply of power from the battery 2 to each load isswitched and controlled by a plurality of on-board control apparatusesmounted in the vehicle 1. As shown in FIG. 1 , body-system loads 6A and6B and multimedia-system loads (referred to as “MM-system load” in theFIGS. 7A and 7B are mounted in the vehicle 1. Two on-board controlapparatuses, a body-system on-board control apparatus 10A and amultimedia-system on-board control apparatus 10B, control supply andnon-supply of power from the battery 2 to the loads. The on-boardcontrol apparatus according to the present embodiment is an apparatusobtained by integrating (uniting) a controller, such as a conventionalECU or a domain controller, and a power source box for power supply. Inthe example shown in the figures, the body-system on-board controlapparatus 10A includes a controller 20A and a power source box 30A. Themultimedia-system on-board control apparatus 10B includes a controller20B and a power source box 30B.

In the present embodiment, the vehicle 1 is provided with a power sourcetrunk line 3 and a communication trunk line 4. The power source trunkline 3 is a trunk line that can be called an energy backbone. The powersource trunk line 3 is constructed, for example, by laying one powerline from the battery 2 mounted on the front side of the vehicle 1 tothe rear side of the vehicle 1. Branch lines obtained by branching thepower source trunk line 3 at appropriate locations are connected to thedevices mounted in the vehicle 1, and power is supplied from the battery2 to devices. In the example shown in FIG. 1 , two branch lines arebranched from the power source trunk line 3, and are respectivelyconnected to the power source box 30A of the body-system on-boardcontrol apparatus 10A and the power source box 30B of themultimedia-system on-board control apparatus 10B. The branch positionsof the branch lines from the power source trunk line 3 can be in thevicinity of the installation positions in the vehicle 1 of thebody-system on-board control apparatus 10A and the multimedia-systemon-board control apparatus 10B, to which these branch lines areconnected respectively.

Similarly, the communication trunk line 4 is constructed by laying acommunication line from the front side to the rear side of the vehicle1, for example. The configuration of the communication trunk line 4depends on the communication protocol. If communication is performed,for example, via a bus such as the CAN (Controller Area Network)communication protocol, the communication trunk line 4 may be a singlebus or a set of buses. Also, if a star-type network configuration suchas the Ethernet (registered trademark) communication protocol isemployed, a plurality of repeaters such as hubs are arranged in thefront-rear direction of the vehicle 1, and the plurality of repeatersconnected by communication lines can be used as the communication trunkline 4. In the example shown in FIG. 2 , two branch lines are branchedfrom the communication trunk line 4, and are respectively connected tothe controller 20A of the body-system on-board control apparatus 10A andthe controller 20B of the multimedia-system on-board control apparatus10B. With this configuration, the body-system on-board control apparatus10A and the multimedia-system on-board control apparatus 10B can performcommunication via the communication trunk line 4. For communication viathe communication trunk line 4, various communication protocols such asCAN, CAN-FD (CAN with Flexible Data rate), Ethernet, MOST (MediaOriented Systems Transport), or FlexRay may be employed, for example.Also, if a PLC (Power Line Communication) protocol is employed, thepower source trunk line 3 and the communication trunk line 4 may also beintegrated.

In the present embodiment, an in-vehicle network 5 is provided in thevehicle 1, apart from the network using the communication trunk line 4.The in-vehicle network 5 can be a network that employs a communicationprotocol such as CAN, and may be slower than the network using thecommunication trunk line 4. In the present embodiment, the controller20A and the power source box 30A of the body-system on-board controlapparatus 10A and the controller 20B and the power source box 30B of themultimedia-system on-board control apparatus 10B are connected to thein-vehicle network 5. With this configuration, the controllers 20A and20B and the power source box 30A and 30B can perform communication viathe in-vehicle network 5. Accordingly, the controller 20A can transmit aswitching command or the like to the power source box 30B, and thecontroller 20B can transmit a switching command or the like to the powersource box 30A.

The body-system loads 6A and 6B are devices such as lights, wipers,windows, doors, or door locks of the vehicle 1, for example, and areloads whose operations are controlled by the controller 20A of thebody-system on-board control apparatus 10A. For this reason, as shown inFIG. 2 , the body-system loads 6A and 6B are connected to the controller20A of the body-system on-board control apparatus 10A, and receive asignal or the like that controls the operation from the controller 20A.Note, that the control signal from the controller 20A to the body-systemloads 6A and 6B may also be provided via the network using thecommunication trunk line 4.

Regarding the power supply path, the body-system loads 6A and 6B are notnecessarily connected to the power source box 30A of the body-systemon-board control apparatus 10A. In the present embodiment, each load ofthe vehicle 1 can be connected to the power source box of the closest(nearest) on-board control apparatus via a power line. It is assumedthat, for example, the body-system on-board control apparatus 10A ismounted on the front side of the vehicle 1, the multimedia-systemon-board control apparatus 10B is mounted on the rear side of thevehicle 1, the body-system load 6A is mounted on the front side of thevehicle 1, and the body-system load 6B is mounted on the rear side ofthe vehicle 1. In this case, as shown in FIG. 1 , the body-system load6A on the front side of the vehicle 1 is connected to the power sourcebox 30A of the body-system on-board control apparatus 10A, and thebody-system load 6B on the rear side of the vehicle 1 is connected tothe power source box 30B of the multimedia-system on-board controlapparatus 10B.

The multimedia-system loads 7A and 7B are devices such as a display, aspeaker, or a camera, for example, and are loads whose operations arecontrolled by the multimedia-system on-board control apparatus 10B.Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 2 , the multimedia-system loads 7A and 7Bare connected to the controller 20B of the multimedia-system on-boardcontrol apparatus 10B, and receive a signal or the like for controllingtheir operations from the controller 20B. Note, that the control signalfrom the controller 20B to the multimedia-system loads 7A and 7B mayalso be provided via the network using the communication trunk line 4.

Similar to the body-system loads 6A and 6B, regarding the power supplypath, the multimedia-system loads 7A and 7B are not necessarilyconnected to the power source box 30B of the multimedia-system on-boardcontrol apparatus 10B. It is assumed that, for example, the body-systemon-board control apparatus 10A is mounted on the front side of thevehicle 1, the multimedia-system on-board control apparatus 10B ismounted on the rear side of the vehicle 1, the multimedia-system load 7Ais mounted on the front side of the vehicle 1, and the multimedia-systemload 7B is mounted on the rear side of the vehicle 1. In this case, asshown in FIG. 1 , the multimedia-system load 7A on the front side of thevehicle 1 is connected to the power source box 30A of the body-systemon-board control apparatus 10A, and the multimedia-system load 7B on therear side of the vehicle 1 is connected to the power source box 30B ofthe multimedia-system on-board control apparatus 10B.

The power source boxes 30A and 30B switch between supply and non-supplyof power from the battery 2 to each load in response to a switchingcommand provided from the controllers 20A and 20B. In the presentembodiment, the power source box 30A of the body-system on-board controlapparatus 10A switches between supply and non-supply of power to thebody-system load 6A in response to a switching command that is directlyprovided from the controller 20A of the body-system on-board controlapparatus 10A, and switches between supply and non-supply of power tothe multimedia-system load 7A in response to a switching command that isprovided from the controller 20B of the multimedia-system on-boardcontrol apparatus 10B via the in-vehicle network 5. Similarly, the powersource box 30B of the multimedia-system on-board control apparatus 10Bswitches between supply and non-supply of power to the body-system load6B in response to a switching command that is provided from thecontroller 20A of the body-system on-board control apparatus 10A via thein-vehicle network 5, and switches between supply and non-supply ofpower to the multimedia-system load 7B in response to a switchingcommand that is directly provided from the controller 20B of themultimedia-system on-board control apparatus 10B.

Apparatus Configuration

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the body-systemon-board control apparatus 10A. Note, that the configuration of themultimedia-system on-board control apparatus 10B is the same as theconfiguration of the body-system on-board control apparatus 10A, andthus illustration and description thereof are omitted. The body-systemon-board control apparatus 10A according to the present embodimentincludes the controller 20A and the power source box 30A. The controller20A includes a processing unit 21, a control signal input/output unit22, a switching command output unit 23, a first communication unit 24,and a second communication unit 25. The processing unit (processor) 21is configured using an arithmetic processing device such as a CPU(Central Processing Unit) or an MPU (Micro-Processing Unit), andexecutes various arithmetic processing and control processing byexecuting a program stored in a storage unit such as a flash memory oran EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory) (notshown). In the present embodiment, the processing unit 21 of thecontroller 20A of the body-system on-board control apparatus 10Acontrols the operations of the body-system loads 6A and 6B, andprovides, to the power source boxes 30A and 30B, a switching command ofsupply and non-supply of power to the body-system loads 6A and 6B.

The control signal input/output unit 22 is connected to the body-systemloads 6A and 6B to be controlled by the body-system on-board controlapparatus 10A, via signal lines (indicated by thick broken arrows inFIG. 3 ) for transmitting control signals. The control signalinput/output unit 22 outputs, to the body-system loads 6A and 6B, acontrol signal for controlling their operations in response to thecommand provided from the processing unit 21. Also, if the body-systemloads 6A and 6B are devices that feed back information, such as sensors,the control signal input/output unit 22 acquires information from thebody-system loads 6A and 6B, and provides the information to theprocessing unit 21.

The switching command output unit 23 outputs, to the power source box30A, a command for switching between supply and non-supply of power tothe body-system load 6A that is connected to the power source box 30A,in response to the command that is provided from the processing unit 21.

The first communication unit 24 is connected to the communication trunkline 4 via the communication line, and communicates with the otheron-board control apparatus via the communication trunk line 4. The firstcommunication unit 24 performs communication according to acommunication protocol such as Ethernet or CAN, for example. The firstcommunication unit 24 transmits information by converting information tobe transmitted, which is provided from the processing unit 21, into anelectrical signal and outputting the electrical signal to thecommunication line. Also, the first communication unit 24 receivesinformation by sampling and acquiring the potential of the communicationline, and provides the received information to the processing unit 21.

The second communication unit 25 is connected to the in-vehicle network5 via the communication line, and communicates with the other on-boardcontrol apparatus via the in-vehicle network 5. The second communicationunit 25 performs communication according to a communication protocolsuch as Ethernet or CAN, for example. The communication protocolsemployed for the first communication unit 24 and the secondcommunication unit 25 may also be the same or different from each other.In the present embodiment, the second communication unit 25 transmits,to the power source box included in the other on-board controlapparatus, a command for switching between supply and non-supply ofpower to the body-system loads that are connected to this power sourcebox, in response to the command that is provided from the processingunit 21.

The power source box 30A of the body-system on-board control apparatus10A includes a switching control unit 31, a switching command input unit32, a communication unit 33, and a switch group 34. The switch group 34includes a plurality of switches 34 a and 34 b. The switches 34 a and 34b are individually switched between conduction and interruption underthe control of the switching control unit 31. Ends on one side of theswitches 34 a and 34 b are connected to the power source trunk line 3via a power line, and ends on the other side of the switches 34 a and 34b are connected to the respective loads. In this example, thebody-system load 6A is connected to the switch 34 a, and themultimedia-system load 7A is connected to the switch 34 b.

The switching command input unit 32 receives a switching command fromthe controller 20A, and provides the received switching command to theswitching control unit 31. The switching control unit 31 switchesbetween conduction and interruption of the switches 34 a and 34 b of theswitch group 34, in response to the switching command that is receivedby the switching command input unit 32. Note that, of the switches 34 aand 34 b, the switch that is switched by the switching control unit 31in response to the switching command received by the switching commandinput unit 32 is the switch 34 a, which is connected to the body-systemload 6A to be controlled by the controller 20A of the body-systemon-board control apparatus 10A (that is, the load to which a controlsignal is provided from the controller 20A).

The communication unit 33 is connected to the in-vehicle network 5 viathe communication line, and communicates with the other on-board controlapparatus via the in-vehicle network 5. The communication protocolemployed for the communication unit 33 is the same as the communicationprotocol employed for the second communication unit 25 of the controller20A. In the present embodiment, the communication unit 33 receives aswitching command that is transmitted from the controller of the otheron-board control apparatus via the in-vehicle network 5, and receivesthe switching command from the other on-board control apparatus. Thecommunication unit provides the received switching command to theswitching control unit 31.

The switching command that is input to the power source box 30A from thecontroller 20A of the body-system on-board control apparatus 10Aincludes, for example, information specifying an object to be switchedsuch as the identification numbers of the switches 34 a and 34 b of thepower source box 30A or the identification numbers (e.g., port numbers)of the connection terminals for connecting the loads, and informationspecifying whether the object to be switched is switched to the supplystate of power or the non-supply state of power. Alternatively, theswitching command may also include information specifying theidentification numbers of the loads. In this case, the power source box30A stores the correspondence between the identification information ofthe loads and the switches 34 a and 34 b to which the loads areconnected.

The switching command that is transmitted to the power source box of theother on-board control apparatus via the in-vehicle network 5 by thesecond communication unit 25 included in the controller 20A of thebody-system on-board control apparatus 10A and the switching commandthat is transmitted by the controller of the other on-board controlapparatus and is received by the communication unit 33 of the powersource box 30A of the body-system on-board control apparatus 10A includethe identification information of the on-board control apparatuses, theidentification information of the switches 34 a and 34 b, and theinformation specifying the supply state of power and the non-supplystate of power.

The switching control unit 31 switches between conduction andinterruption of the switches 34 a and 34 b of the switch group 34 inresponse to the switching command that is provided from the switchingcommand input unit 32 and the switching command that is provided fromthe communication unit 33, and switches between supply and non-supply ofpower to the loads that are connected to the power source box 30A.

Note, that in the plurality of switches 34 a and 34 b included in theswitch group 34, the switch that is switched in response to theswitching command from the controller 20A of the on-board controlapparatus in which that switch is included and the switch that isswitched in response to the switching command from the other on-boardcontrol apparatus via the in-vehicle network 5 may be distinguished fromeach other. The switch 34 a may be defined to be connected to thebody-system load 6A, and not to be connected to the multimedia-systemload 7A, for example.

Alternatively, the plurality of switches 34 a and 34 b included in theswitch group 34 may also be switched by one of the switching commandfrom the controller 20A of the on-board control apparatus in which theswitches are included and the switching command from the other on-boardcontrol apparatus. In this configuration, a configuration may also beemployed in which the switching control unit 31 stores thecorrespondence between the loads connected to the switches 34 a and 34 band the on-board control apparatuses that control these loads, it isdetermined whether the correspondence between the on-board controlapparatus that is the output source of the provided switching commandand the load to be switched is valid, and the switching is not performedif the switching command is not a valid switching command.

Flowchart

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the procedure of a switching controlprocess performed by the power source box 30A of the body-systemon-board control apparatus 10A. Note, that the switching control processperformed by the power source box 30B of the multimedia-system on-boardcontrol apparatus 10B is the same as the process shown in thisflowchart, and thus illustration and description of the correspondingflowchart are omitted. The switching control unit 31 of the power sourcebox 30A of the body-system on-board control apparatus 10A determineswhether a switching command from the switching command output unit 23 ofthe controller 20A is input to the switching command input unit 32 (stepS1). If a switching command is not input from the controller 20A (NO instep S1), the switching control unit 31 determines whether thecommunication unit 33 receives a switching command from the otheron-board control apparatus (step S2). If a switching command is notreceived from the other on-board control apparatus, the switchingcontrol unit 31 returns the process to step S1, and waits until aswitching command is provided from the controller 20A or the otheron-board control apparatus.

If a switching command is input from the controller 20A (YES in stepS1), or if a switching command is received from the other on-boardcontrol apparatus (YES in step S2), the switching control unit 31determines the switch 34 a or 34 b to be switched, from the plurality ofswitches 43 a and 43 b included in the switch group 34, based on theinformation included in the switching command (step S3). Then, theswitching control unit 31 switches between conduction and interruptionof the switch 34 a or 34 b to be switched based on the informationincluded in the switching command (step S4), and ends the processing.

Summary

The on-board power supply system according to the present embodimenthaving the above configuration includes, in the vehicle 1, the on-boardcontrol apparatuses (the body-system on-board control apparatus 10A andthe multimedia-system on-board control apparatus 10B) in which thecontrollers 20A and 20B for controlling the operations of the controlleddevices (the loads) and the power source boxes 30A and 30B for switchingbetween supply and non-supply of power to the loads from the powersource (the battery 2) are integrated.

The multimedia-system load 7A to be controlled by the controller 20B ofthe multimedia-system on-board control apparatus 10B is connected to thepower source box 30A of the body-system on-board control apparatus 10Avia a power line. The power source box 30A of the body-system on-boardcontrol apparatus 10A switches between supply and non-supply of power tothe multimedia-system load 7A that is connected to the power source box30A, in response to a switching command from the controller 20B of themultimedia-system on-board control apparatus 10B.

Also, the body-system load 6B to be controlled by the controller 20A ofthe body-system on-board control apparatus 10A is connected to the powersource box 30B of the multimedia-system on-board control apparatus 10Bvia a power line, for example. The power source box 30B of themultimedia-system on-board control apparatus 10B switches between supplyand non-supply of power to the body-system load 6B that is connected tothe power source box 30B, in response to a switching command from thecontroller 20A of the body-system on-board control apparatus 10A.

As mentioned above, even in the case in which the on-board controlapparatuses in which the controllers 20A and 20B and the power sourceboxes 30A and 30B are integrated are mounted in the vehicle 1, thedegree of freedom of connection between the power source boxes 30A and30B of the on-board control apparatuses and the loads via a power linein the vehicle 1 is increased, by making it possible to connect loadsthat are not to be controlled by the corresponding controller 20A and20B to the power source boxes 30A and 30B of the on-board controlapparatuses. This makes it possible to suppress an increase in theamount of the power lines mounted in the vehicle 1.

In the present embodiment, the power source box 30A of the body-systemon-board control apparatus 10A is provided with the switches 34 a and 34b for switching supply and non-supply of power to the loads, thecommunication unit 33 that receives a switching command from the otheron-board control apparatus, and the switching control unit 31 thatswitches between conduction and interruption of the switches 34 a and 34b in response to the received switching command. With thisconfiguration, the power source box 30A integrated in the body-systemon-board control apparatus 10A can switch between supply and non-supplyof power to the multimedia-system load 7A that is not to be controlledby the controller 20A, without hindering the processing of thecontroller 20A that controls the operations of the body-system loads 6Aand 6B. The same applies to the multimedia-system on-board controlapparatus 10B.

In the present embodiment, the communication unit 33 of the power sourcebox 30A receives a switching command from the other on-board controlapparatus via the in-vehicle network 5. With this configuration, it isnot necessary to provide a separate signal line for transmitting andreceiving a switching command, because the power source box 30A canreceive a switching command from the other on-board control apparatususing the existing in-vehicle network 5. Accordingly, it is possible tosuppress an increase in the amount of the signal lines mounted in thevehicle 1.

In the present embodiment, if a plurality of on-board controlapparatuses and a plurality of loads are mounted in the vehicle 1, eachload is connected to the power source box of the nearest on-boardcontrol apparatus via a power line, and the load is connected, via asignal line, to the controller of the on-board control apparatus thatcontrols that load. The body-system load 6A and the multimedia-systemload 7A that are disposed in the vicinity of the body-system on-boardcontrol apparatus 10A are connected to the power source box 30A of thebody-system on-board control apparatus 10A via a power line, and thebody-system load 6B and the multimedia-system load 7B that are disposedin the vicinity of the multimedia-system on-board control apparatus 10Bare connected to the power source box 30B of the multimedia-systemon-board control apparatus 10B via a power line, for example. Note, thatthe body-system loads 6A and 6B are connected, via signal lines, to thecontroller 20A of the body-system on-board control apparatus 10A thatcontrols these loads, and the multimedia-system load 7A and 7B areconnected, via signal lines, to the controller 20B of themultimedia-system on-board control apparatus 10B that controls theseloads. In this manner, the length of the power line that connects thepower source boxes 30A and 30B of the on-board control apparatuses andthe loads can be shortened.

In the present embodiment, as an on-board control apparatus in which acontroller and a power source box are integrated, two on-board controlapparatuses, the body-system on-board control apparatus 10A and themultimedia-system on-board control apparatus 10B, are mounted in thevehicle 1. But the present disclosure is not limited to thisconfiguration. The on-board control apparatuses may be apparatuses otherthan a body-system on-board control apparatus and a multimedia-systemon-board control apparatus, and the loads may be loads other than abody-system load and a multimedia-system load. Also, three or moreon-board control apparatuses may be mounted in the vehicle 1. Aconfiguration is employed in which the controller and the power sourcebox of the on-board control apparatus transmit and receive a switchingcommand via the in-vehicle network 5, but the present disclosure is notlimited to this configuration. A configuration may also be employed inwhich the controller of one of the on-board control apparatuses and thepower source box of the other on-board control apparatus to which theload controlled by this controller is connected are connected using asignal line, and a switching command that switches between conductionand interruption of a switch is directly provided from the controller ofthe one of the on-board control apparatuses to the power source box ofthe other on-board control apparatus via the signal line. The methods ofthe modifications described below may also be employed as the method oftransmission and reception of a switching command between the on-boardcontrol apparatuses.

First Modification

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a body-systemon-board control apparatus 110A according to a first modification. Inthe on-board power supply system according to the first modification, aswitching command from the controller of one of the on-board controlapparatus to the power source box of the other on-board controlapparatus is transmitted and received via the communication trunk line4, not via the in-vehicle network 5. Accordingly, the controller 20A ofthe body-system on-board control apparatus 110A according to the firstmodification includes no second communication unit 25 that performscommunication via the in-vehicle network 5, and transmits a switchingcommand to the power source box of the other on-board control apparatususing the first communication unit 24. The power source box 30A of thebody-system on-board control apparatus 110A according to the firstmodification includes a communication unit 133 that performscommunication via the communication trunk line 4, instead of thecommunication unit 33 that performs communication via the in-vehiclenetwork 5. In this manner, the power source box 30A can receive aswitching command from the other on-board control apparatus using thecommunication unit 133 via the communication trunk line 4.

Second Modification

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a body-systemon-board control apparatus 210A according to a second modification. Theon-board power supply system according to the second modification is thesame as the first modification in that a switching command istransmitted from the controller of one of the on-board controlapparatuses to the power source box of the other on-board controlapparatus via the communication trunk line 4. Note, that in thebody-system on-board control apparatus 210A according to the secondmodification, the controller 20A and the power source box 30A share onecommunication unit 224, and perform communication via the communicationtrunk line 4. The communication unit 224 may also be included in eitherthe controller 20A or the power source box 30A. In this manner, by thecontroller 20A and the power source box 30A sharing one communicationunit 224, the number of communication units (e.g., communication ICs)mounted on the body-system on-board control apparatus 310A can bereduced, and the cost of the body-system on-board control apparatus 10Acan be reduced.

Third Modification

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a body-systemon-board control apparatus 310A according to a third modification.Similar to the body-system on-board control apparatus 210A according tothe second modification, the body-system on-board control apparatus 310Aaccording to the third modification includes only one communication unit224. Note, that in the body-system on-board control apparatus 310Aaccording to the third modification, the power source box 30A does notdirectly transmit and receive information to and from the communicationunit 224. Instead, if the communication unit 224 receives a switchingcommand from the other on-board control apparatus, the controller 20Aoutputs, to the power source box 30A, the switching command from theswitching command output unit 23. With this configuration, the powersource box 30A can receive a switching command from the other on-boardcontrol apparatus via the controller 20A, and can switch betweenconduction and interruption of the switches 34 a and 34 b in response tothe received switching command. In this configuration, the power sourcebox 30A does not need to distinguish whether the provided switchingcommand is transmitted from the controller of the other on-board controlapparatus or from the controller 20A provided on the body-systemon-board control apparatus 10A in which the power source box 30A isincluded.

The invention claimed is:
 1. An electronic control unit comprising: afirst controller that is connected to a first electrical device mountedin a vehicle via a signal line and that is configured to control anoperation of the first electrical device; and a power source box that isconnected to a power source mounted in the vehicle via a power line, thepower source box is connected to the first electrical device mounted inthe vehicle via the power line, and wherein the power source box isconfigured to switch between supply and non-supply of power from thepower source to the first electrical device, wherein the power sourcebox includes: a switch that is disposed in a power supply path from thepower source to a second electrical device whose operation is controlledby a second controller of a second electronic control unit; a receptionunit configured to receive a switching command from the secondelectronic control unit; and a switching control unit configured toswitch between conduction and interruption of the switch in response tothe switching command received by the reception unit so as to switchbetween supply and non-supply of power from the power source to thefirst electrical device, wherein the first electrical device and thesecond electrical device whose operation is controlled by acorresponding one of the first controller and the second controller isswitched between supply and non-supply of power from the power source bya second power source box of the second electronic control unit.